The building

Security incidents and assassination attempts

On 19 September 1972, a letter bomb delivered to the Embassy exploded, killing Ami Shechori, an Israeli diplomat. Seven other bombs claimed to have been sent by the terrorist group Black September were either not delivered, or detected.[4]

On 3 June 1982, Ambassador of Israel Shlomo Argov was shot and seriously injured on departing an event at the Dorchester Hotel where he was guest of honour.[5] A terror cell claiming to have split from the PLO and headed by Abu Nidal took credit for the attack. After a lengthy coma, the Ambassador died of his wounds in 2003. The incident is widely reported as being a key factor in the 1982 Lebanon War.[6]

On 26 July 1994, a car bomb exploded outside the Embassy, partially destroying the front of the building and injuring 20 people within and outside the building.[7] The blast damaged shops on nearby Kensington High Street, and blew out windows in Kensington Palace.[7] The attack came a day after the leaders of Israel and Jordan had met for peace talks and eight days after a bomb at the AMIA building in Buenos Aires, Argentina killed 85 and injured hundreds.[7] Thirteen hours after the attack on the embassy another bomb exploded outside a Jewish charity building in north London, injuring six people.[7] Five Palestinians resident in London were arrested in January 1995 in connection with the bombings and two – Jawad Botmeh and Samar Alami – were sentenced to 20 years in jail for their role in the attacks.[7]

A series of demonstrations outside the Embassy during December 2008 and January 2009, held in protest at Israel's "Cast Lead" operation in Gaza, were marred by violence and ended in a number of arrests[8] and at least one court sentence for those taking part in the violence.